Brad Holmes scored the biggest goal of his hockey career as the recipient of the John Reid Memorial Scholarship.
The former St. Albert Gregg Distributors Sabre was awarded the $1,000 prize at Thursday’s opening ceremonies at the John Reid Memorial Tournament at Go Auto Arena.
“I remember my year with the Sabres and seeing the winner (Brady McCorriston) get it and I said that’s something that I want to do,” Holmes recalled of the 2012 tournament. “I didn’t think I was going to get it so I’m extremely happy.
“Now that I’m moving on with my life and hockey is becoming less and less it’s a nice way to top it off.”
The Reid scholarship was established by the parent group of the 2004/05 Sabres to recognize former St. Albert bantam AAA players who are contributing members of society, academically inspired, volunteer driven and display a passion for hockey like the individual its named after.
Justin Kueber was the inaugural recipient, followed by Joshua Maeda, Steven Woolger, McCorriston, Ryan Harrison, Liam Liston and last year’s co-recipients, Steven Canduro and Brady Reid.
“This year’s recipient is an extremely well-rounded young man. He’s in his first year of engineering in Red Deer College with exceptional grades. He’s very active as a youth leader and spends countless hours volunteering,” said Reid’s wife, Darcy, at the opening ceremonies. “As a true leader, Brad exemplifies what we look for in a candidate. We wish you every success in the future.”
Reid was a standout forward with the St. Albert Saints and Sherwood Park Crusaders in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and the Alberta Golden Bears and as a hockey and lacrosse coach was a positive influence on the St. Albert youths he mentored.
Reid died of leukemia at age 41 on Nov. 6, 2003 and the next year the St. Albert bantam AAA tournament was renamed in his memory.
“John Reid was a huge part of the community and that’s why the tournament was named after him,” Holmes said. “It’s truly an honour to receive the scholarship in his name.”
Holmes, 18, has fond memories of the Reid tournament.
“It’s like a second Christmas to the kids in bantam AAA,” said the Paul Kane High School graduate. “I remember when I was playing I was waiting all year for this tournament and getting all excited for it.
“I would say it’s the best bantam AAA tournament on the western side of Canada for sure and we have even more teams from the States coming than in my year. It just shows how good these players are and what it really means to be a part of the John Reid tournament.”
The Sabres finished 1-4 in 2012 with a lineup that included defenceman Joshua Mahura, forward Matteo Gennaro and netminders’ Pat Dea and Matt Murray.
“The whole bantam AAA year we did really well (18-8-7 in league play) and the team really bonded together, we just slumped at the tournament a little bit but it was still an awesome experience,” said Holmes, who had one assist in four games. “My best memory of it was the first game, the morning game (3-1 win over Notre Dame Hounds). All the students came to watch and it was a packed arena. It was a lot of fun.
“The opening ceremonies when we played against an L.A. team (3-2 loss to the Selects) was a lot of fun. I remember the whole community coming out and supporting us. Overall, the entire tournament with the hype around it and the excitement around it was something really nice.
“It’s just good memories now.”
It was a major milestone for Holmes to play in the tournament.
“I always made the team below the top team and I really wanted to make an AAA team. I played double AA (bantam Bears) the year before and I worked hard in the summer and dedicated myself to making the team and then when I did I felt really accomplished. It was one of the first times I worked really hard towards a goal,” said the self-described “grinder, enforcer and energy guy,” who recorded three goals, eight assists and 40 penalty minutes in 32 games with the Sabres.
His last season with the St. Albert Raiders Hockey Club was with the midget AA Crusaders, the 2015 Fountain Tire Cup playoff finalists, and in 31 league games registered 13 goals, 15 assists and 26 penalty minutes in 31 games.
“It was nice to finish it off by going to the league finals and having that awesome experience.”
Hockey is more than a sport for Holmes, it’s a way of life. He still manages to squeeze pick-up hockey on the outdoor rinks or drop in sessions at the arena with friends in Red Deer while aspiring to become a chemical or mechanical engineer.
“I’ve played it since I was a young kid and then when I got good I liked playing with my friends and I made more new friends. I enjoyed pushing myself, trying to get better each and every game, trying to be better than what I was and that was rewarding to me,” said Holmes, who contributes time to a group of engineering students in Red Deer, in addition to the commitments he has developed in St. Albert.
“Hockey is really a huge sense of family and community within a team and I wanted to extend that out to people I know, friends, family and even people I didn’t know, just people in the community in general. I wanted to kind of share that experience I felt and the feeling everyone has everyone’s back. It’s nice to kind of work towards a community that’s together, works together and tries and shapes how we look at St. Albert.”
